People claiming this is the downfall of America I think are going overboard, way overboard, I mean, if that's so how can we fall because all we're doing is not changing, that's not falling, that's just stagnating.
I do think Obama was a bit disingenuous, at least in public, about his bipartisan efforts, however, I do also think that it's pretty clear that the current Republican party is much more interested in hurting the Democrats politically then actually governing the country. Sorry. I don't think there was a chance in hell that Obama was actually going to get Republicans to work on anything.
Regarding the health care issue, it failing now is actually my best case scenario, because, as I said a while back, now we'll have to revisit this topic that much sooner and when we do there'll be that much more public support and possible willingness for more meaningful reform. I think passing the current Senate bill would have helped slow the health care problem to the point where we never would have really reformed the system just tweaked it ever so slightly ad naseum. So I hope it dies for now, until it's either affecting enough of the population where we can do real reform or we get an actual leader who can actually lead instead one that looks for the safest way to be led.
I also wanted to touch on the concept of allowing people to not perform abortions or prescribe the morning after pill to rape victims as being equal to a de facto ban on abortion. Morally and ethically I do think there is a clear difference. We're not talking about Christian Scientists here, they're against one procedure, I'm sure a pharmacist or doctor who performs abortions didn't start out thinking "gee I'd like to kill some babies" nor do I think it's the same thing as not wanting to treat a black person, although I'm sure it'd be the same rationalization process in the brain, so I really do think it should be a persons choice to do that one service.
That said, I also agree that in certain areas granting people the ability to make that decision would in fact be a back door way of banning abortions. Troubling, but sometimes allowing people to have the rights they should does have consequences, I hate that sometimes. So both sides are right, and wrong. Morally they should have the choice, but economically in practice giving that choice will have the consequence of some places not doing them.
Anyways though, the solution is easy enough, mandate that hospitals have at least one person at all times willing to do those procedures and you're set, you're wasting money but moral dilemma solved. Just like I believe in assisted suicide for terminal patients but I don't expect every Doctor to go for that nor would I expect them to all be required to do that. But really, fuck pharmacists anyways, it should be grandfathered in that all new pharmacists don't get the luxury of deciding what is and isn't morally acceptable from now on, I don't hate them, but I don't really understand or believe that anyone has a calling to be a pharmacist, I'm pretty sure it's just money, and there's lots of medical jobs that anyone can do that make decent money, move aside from now on and take some other job that doesn't clash with your conscious. But being that the pill is a relatively new thing in this country I think the current pharmacists should get a say in what they do, but from here on out it should be understood for all future hires that, yes, you may have to fill this prescription. Hospitals would just start asking if they're opposed to abortion related services and not hire people that are in the future since hiring a person just to handle that one task is a waste.
